Whitmer seeks to lower the number of uninsured residents, stabilize the cost of private insurance premiums

Larry A. Peplin for Crain's Detroit Business

Gretchen Whitmer

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer wants to raise the age for purchasing tobacco to 21 and stabilize the rising cost of private health insurance through the creation of a state-run reinsurance program.

With five weeks until Election Day, Whitmer rolled out a health care plan Tuesday that seeks to lower the number of uninsured residents, join a national movement to raise the smoking age and create contrasts with her Republican opponent Bill Schuette ahead of two televised debates later this month.

Whitmer is proposing Michigan start a reinsurance program to stabilize the individual private insurance market by adding a layer of coverage for individuals with higher medical claims.

Wisconsin and at least four other states have created reinsurance programs where the state provides tax dollars to private insurers to cover the claims of individuals with a higher propensity to use medical services.

"If you had this most expensive uber-utilizer covered by reinsurance, I think it would improve our ability to open up expansion to more people," Whitmer said in an interview with Crain's.

The exact cost of the reinsurance program for Michigan taxpayers would depend on the level of coverage approved by federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Whitmer said.

The federal government recently approved Wisconsin's reinsurance plan, which the Badger State is contributing $34 million toward and drawing down $166 million in federal funds, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinelreported.

"I think there a lot of variables when you talk about how we can do it and what the appetite will be at the feds," Whitmer said. "But we believe it could really infuse a lot of resources into our state and get a lot more people covered."

Nancy Schlichting, the former CEO of Henry Ford Health System, reviewed the plan for Whitmer's campaign. In an interview, Schlichting called Whitmer's overall health care plan "incredibly comprehensive," but questioned whether the reinsurance program could get support from the Legislature.

"I raised a question about whether that's politically going to be feasible right now," Schlichting said.

"I'm supporting Gretchen Whitmer because she's a unique candidate for governor running at a critical time for our state's future," Loepp said in a statement. "She's solved critical problems by working to bring people together to forge solutions — like expanding access to health care through Medicaid."

Whitmer's health care plan also calls for paid family sick time; greater transparency in prescription drug price negotiations between hospitals and pharmaceutical industry; an unspecified increase in state spending on mental health programs; and raising the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 to be in line with alcohol purchase law.

Six states and more than 350 local governments in 21 states have raised the minimum age for purchasing tobacco to 21 as a means of trying to discourage smoking, which causes one-in-five deaths in the U.S. annually.

"We in Michigan are overweight, we're less healthy than a lot of other states and we smoke more," Whitmer said. "When you look at the statistics, like 95 percent of adult smokers started smoking before they turned 21. We think this is a great way to improve the health of our population, which improves our economy as well."

If elected governor, Whitmer also wants to repeal the Michigan Product Liability Act of 1995, which gives pharmaceutical manufacturers immunity from most lawsuits over faulty or dangerous drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Michigan is the only state in the nation that doesn't let residents sue drugmakers for selling and marketing harmful narcotics.

Schuette co-sponsored the law as a state senator.

Health care battles

State policy on health care has become a flashpoint in this year's governor's race, with Whitmer touting her work with Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to expand the Medicaid program in 2013 and Schuette recently claiming Whitmer wants "state-run" health care.

Democrats have been highlighting Scheutte's efforts to upend the Affordable Care Act of 2010 that mostly funded the expanded Medicaid program to childless low-income adults. Schuette took a legal challenge of President Barack Obama's health care law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in an unsuccessful bid to the get the act overturned.

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Chad Livengood/Crain's Detroit Business

Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Republican nominee for governor, has said he won't try to eliminate the Healthy Michigan health insurance program for low-income adults.

Schuette recently pledged he won't try to eliminate the health insurance program for the poor if he's elected governor.

On Tuesday, Whitmer's campaign launched a new television ad highlighting how she spent "hours fighting the insurance company" over coverage for her mother's brain cancer chemotherapy treatment.

A campaign spokesman has previously said Whitmer's mother, Sherry, had insurance through Physicians Health Plan in Lansing. Sherry Whitmer died in 2002 during her daughter's first term in the Michigan House of Representatives.

"Bill Schuette thinks insurance companies should be allowed to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions," Whitmer said in the ad.

Schuette's campaign quickly refuted Whitmer's claim, pointing to comments Schuette made as far back as 2012 voicing support for the Affordable Care Act's protection against insurance companies denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition, such as cancer.

"Gretchen Whitmer led off her general election advertising campaign today with a blatant lie," Schuette's campaign said in an email to reporters. "That is FALSE. And she knows it."

Whitmer and Schuette also have been sparring on the recently enacted work requirements for the 680,000 low-income adults enrolled in the Healthy Michigan program, which is mangaged by private health insurance companies. Whitmer has vowed to repeal the work requirements.

"If it really was about getting people to work, (the Legislature) would have done something to open up opportunities for training in the trades — they would have leveled barriers to child care or transportation," Whitmer said Tuesday. "They didn't do any of those things. It was simply to take health care away from people."

Schuette supported the new law that — pending federal approval — will require Medicaid recipients starting in 2020 to either work 80 hours per month, be enrolled in a job-training program or prove they're volunteering or looking for work in order to continue getting health insurance coverage.

Schuette has said Democrats have been mischaracterizing his position on the future of Snyder's Healthy Michigan program.

"I'm going to have affordable, accessible health care," Schuette said last month on Michigan Radio's "Stateside" program. "People who have a chronic problem and can't work and qualify for Healthy Michigan, we're going to make sure they get the health care they deserve."

Schuette and Whitmer will meet for their first televised debate on Oct. 12 from 7-8 p.m. in the Grand Rapids studios of WOOD-TV.

WDIV-TV (Channel 4) will host the gubernatorial rivals for their second and final one-hour TV debate at 8 p.m. Oct. 24 in the NBC affiliate's downtown Detroit studio.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Whitmer's reinsurance would be tied to the Medicaid insurance program for low-income adults. This version of the story is correct.